History of Trampoline

The first modern form of the trampoline was built in 1934 at the University of Iowa. It was developed as a training tool for astronauts, and other athletes who required acrobatic training such as divers, gymnasts and skiers. Soon, the equipment became so popular, that people discovered the enormous amount of tricks you can perform on them, thus the sport of Trampolining was born!

Trampolining was quickly adopted by school programs in the US, however insufficient knowledge and training led to injuries and lawsuits which added to the decline of popularity as a competitive sport. However, countries such as the Soviet and China rapidly increased the sizes and quality of their programs and gained momentum in participation.

Lengthy routines caused many injuries, and so the sport was codified by regulations for safety. By the 1950s, the 10 bounce routine became the norm, and was trialled at the first World Championships in London in 1964. Initially, Americans dominated the World rankings, however European nations and Chinese athletes began to overtake these positions.

Trampolining made its Olympic debut at the 2000 Olympic Games with two sessions; the Individual Women’s, and Individual Men’s competitions. Later, other programs were added under the umbrella sport of Trampolining. Today, we can see synchronised trampoline, double mini-trampoline (DMT), and tumbling as well as the individual trampoline events.